A GROUP’S effort to beautify their surroundings has brought a community together and even attracted new people to their village.
What began as a small band of volunteers wanting to add colour to West Auckland’s village green only two years ago has grown into a thriving well-organised group that aims to take top honours in the Northumberland-in-Bloom environmental competition in the near future.
Despite this year’s competition being cancelled, the group were out in force last week to plant hundreds of seedlings to ensure the village looks its best this summer.
This will complement a winter bulb planting programme that resulted in a brilliant daffodil display in the spring.
Audrey Beck, from the group, said: “We have had wonderful feedback. A number of people came up to us and said the village is looking better and the flowers are beautiful. Since we have started this people have been more friendly and more open.
“People have moved into the village from down south because they came through the village last year and were so impressed.”
However, this year has been a challenge for the group, members said. Billy Pattison added: “It has been a bit different this year with the lockdown because we haven’t been able to have coffee mornings and have had difficulty raising funds.”
Despite this they were able to spend about £500 for six new half-barrel tubs and to buy hundreds of geranium, fuchsia, begonia, petunia and marigold seedlings.
An anonymous donation of another £500 helped buy and fill and expensive reservoir-type tub for the green.
Mr Pattison said the support from people in the village had been amazing. He added: “It is surprising how people come out and say ‘do you want water?’ and offer their hosepipes, because we come down with tubs. Others come out and say ‘I will look after this for you’. It has brought the village together.”
An example of the impact of the display on the community was surprise donation of £10 they received from an elderly resident who came out while they were planting last Wednesday. While disappointed that this year’s Northumberland-in-Bloom has been abandoned, Mr Pattison’s wife, Jean, said the aim was always simply to improve the village. She added: “This was going to be our year. We went to a meeting in March and the judges were to come in April, then it was cancelled – but we still wanted to do the tubs because we wanted to lift the village.”
Mrs Beck added: “We want to live somewhere where people to want come to and where it is a wonderful place to live.”
The group is now appealing for people to help with donations towards their next planting in October where they want to put in winter plants such as pansies and primulas, as well as more bulbs for the spring.
Anyone who can help can email parish councillor Neil Simpson at neilsim@aol.
com.
